Alternatives
The best Sunsama alternatives in 2026
Sunsama’s daily ritual is calm and deliberate, but it is paid-only, manual and read-only for email. These six alternatives range from free AI planners to cheaper lists.
Updated September 22, 2026
Why people look for a Sunsama alternative
Sunsama is a calm, guided daily and weekly planning ritual with realistic time budgets, and it pulls tasks from Gmail, Outlook, Todoist, Asana, Notion, Jira and Trello into one day view. People who leave usually still like the ritual. What they stop liking is what it costs and what it will not do.
- No free plan. Sunsama is $17 a month billed annually or $22 monthly, with a 14-day trial. That is on the high end for a personal planner.
- Planning is deliberately manual. Nothing prioritizes your list for you; the AI can estimate durations, break down tasks and suggest a schedule, but the ranking is yours every morning.
- Email is read-only. Gmail and Outlook appear in a side panel so you can drag messages into tasks, but you still reply in your mail client.
- Desktop and web need a connection. Only the mobile app works offline, with basic features.
- Thin task model. Tasks cannot block each other, there are no status columns, automations run through Zapier, and there is no waiting status.
A daily ritual is valuable; a weekly review is too. The question is whether you need a paid app to hold the ritual, or an app that does the ranking so the ritual gets shorter. Our Fluidwave vs Sunsama comparison looks at both.
Tasks, email, calendar and contacts with AI, so you always know what to do next.
Best for people who want Sunsama’s calm planning with the ranking and email done for them, free. Sunsama’s ritual is deliberately manual, email is read-only in the side panel, and it costs $17 a month with no free plan. Fluidwave ranks the list with auto-prioritization, hides tasks you cannot act on, drags tasks onto a Google Calendar grid as resizable, splittable sessions, and can pack them into free time inside your working hours with AI. Gmail is fully inside the app with AI triage, replies and one-click unsubscribe. It is offline-first and free forever with no credit card. Email is Gmail-only and the desktop app is macOS-only today.
Pros
- Tasks, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts live in one app, and they link to each other.
- Auto-prioritization and the Active filter hide what you cannot work on yet, so the top of the list is always what to do next.
- AI email triage summarizes, scores and suggests an action for every thread; you confirm with one key.
- AI time blocking packs tasks into real free time inside your working hours and syncs the sessions to Google Calendar.
- A visual automation builder covers both email and tasks, including an AI reply step.
- Works offline, with a Claude MCP connector, voice control and 16 languages.
- Completely free.
Cons
- Email works with Gmail only; there is no Outlook or IMAP support yet.
- Windows and Linux desktop apps are still coming; macOS, web and mobile are live.
- Built for individuals and small teams rather than large-scale project portfolios.
- Pricing:
- Free Free forever. No subscription, no credit card.
- Best for:
- People who want tasks, email, calendar and contacts in one place and want the app to decide what comes next.
- #2
Akiflow
A keyboard-driven task consolidator and time blocker for busy professionals.
Best for keyboard-first users who found Sunsama’s guided flow slow. Akiflow’s command bar with natural-language dates captures and schedules tasks entirely from the keyboard, consolidates tasks from Gmail, Slack, Notion, Todoist, Asana, ClickUp and Jira into one inbox, and offers drag-and-drop time blocking with two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync, the same consolidation idea as Sunsama at a faster pace. Aki AI plans your day on request and there is an official MCP connector. Pricing is similar, $19 a month billed annually with no free plan, and like Sunsama nothing auto-prioritizes. Email is one-way and there is no Kanban, Gantt, dependencies or habit tracking.
Pros
- A fast command bar with natural-language dates for capturing and scheduling tasks entirely from the keyboard.
- Consolidates tasks from Gmail, Slack, Notion, Todoist, Asana, ClickUp, Jira and more into one inbox.
- Drag-and-drop time blocking with two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync.
- Aki AI assistant and an official MCP connector for managing tasks from Claude.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Cons
- Email is one-way: messages become tasks, but you cannot read or reply to email in Akiflow.
- No free plan and one of the pricier planners when billed monthly.
- No automatic prioritization; you still decide the order of your day.
- Habit tracking, dependencies and project views like Kanban or Gantt are missing.
- Pricing:
- From $19/month (annual) Pro is $34 billed monthly; only a 7-day trial, no free plan.
- Best for:
- Keyboard-first professionals who want to consolidate tasks from many tools and time block them fast.
- #3
Motion
An AI project and calendar manager that plans your day for you.
Best for people who want the planning done for them instead of walked through. Where Sunsama asks you to plan each day, Motion auto-schedules every task into your calendar and reshuffles when meetings move or deadlines slip, with dependencies, Kanban boards and team capacity planning included. AI Chat, docs and a meeting notetaker share the workspace, and there are native apps for macOS, Windows, iPhone and Android. It is slightly more expensive at $19 a month billed annually, the 7-day trial needs a card, AI usage draws on metered credits, nothing works offline, and email is not in the app at all.
Pros
- Auto-schedules every task into your calendar and reshuffles the plan when meetings move or deadlines slip.
- Full project management with dependencies, Kanban boards and team capacity planning.
- AI Chat, docs and a meeting notetaker live in the same workspace as your tasks.
- Native apps for macOS, Windows, iPhone and Android.
- Syncs with Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars.
Cons
- No email client and no AI email triage, so your inbox stays in a separate app.
- No free plan; the 7-day trial needs a card and AI features draw on a metered credit allowance.
- Needs a connection; there is no offline editing.
- Gantt charts and timelines are locked to the Business AI tier.
- Pricing:
- From $19/month (annual) Pro AI is $29 billed monthly; the 7-day trial needs a card and AI usage is metered in credits.
- Best for:
- Teams and busy individuals who want an AI to build their whole day for them and are happy to pay a premium for it.
An AI calendar that auto-schedules habits, tasks and focus time around your meetings.
Best for calendar-first people who want habits and focus time protected automatically, with a free plan. Reclaim.ai defends habits with flexible windows on your calendar, auto-schedules tasks by priority and due date, and reshuffles as the week changes, across multiple Google and Outlook calendars with buffer time. The Lite plan is genuinely free, something Sunsama does not offer, though it only schedules one week ahead with a single calendar. There are no native desktop or mobile apps, nothing works offline, there is no email integration at all, and the task list is thin, with no boards, timelines or waiting status.
Pros
- Habits with flexible windows are defended on your calendar and move automatically around meetings.
- Tasks are auto-scheduled by priority and due date and reshuffled as your week changes.
- Genuinely free Lite plan with the core scheduling features.
- Syncs multiple Google and Outlook calendars, with buffer time and smart meeting scheduling.
- Official MCP server and a Slack integration with slash-command task creation.
Cons
- Web app only; there are no native desktop or mobile apps and nothing works offline.
- No email integration at all, so emails cannot become tasks without Zapier.
- The task list is thin: no dependencies, boards, timelines or waiting status.
- The free Lite plan only schedules one week ahead with a single calendar.
- Pricing:
- From $10/seat/month (annual) Lite is free forever with a one-week scheduling range; Starter is $12 billed monthly. Reclaim is now part of Dropbox.
- Best for:
- Calendar-first people who want habits, focus time and tasks defended automatically on a Google or Outlook calendar.
- #5
TickTick
A cross-platform to-do list that bundles a calendar, habit tracker and Pomodoro timer.
Best for people who want a planner, habit tracker and Pomodoro timer for a few dollars a month. TickTick bundles a built-in habit tracker with streaks and statistics, a Pomodoro timer with focus stats, and calendar, Kanban and Timeline views with tasks you can drag onto the calendar. Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and the web all work offline, unlike Sunsama’s desktop app. Premium is $49.99 a year with a usable free plan. Nothing prioritizes or schedules for you, the day and week grids need Premium, there is no guided planning ritual, and email arrives only by forwarding.
Pros
- Built-in habit tracker with streaks and statistics, plus a Pomodoro timer and focus stats.
- Calendar, Kanban and Timeline views on top of the list, with tasks draggable onto the calendar.
- An official MCP server at mcp.ticktick.com covers tasks and habits and is listed in Claude’s connector directory.
- One of the cheapest paid tiers among major task managers, with a usable free plan.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and the web, all working offline.
Cons
- No email client and no AI triage; email arrives by forwarding and you still work your inbox elsewhere.
- Nothing prioritizes or schedules for you; ordering and time slots are manual.
- Day and week calendar grids, calendar subscriptions and the Timeline view are Premium only.
- The free plan is capped at 9 lists and 99 tasks per list.
- Pricing:
- From $49.99/year (about $4.17/month) Premium is US$49.99/year on TickTick’s site; a monthly option and promotional prices are available through the app stores and vary by region.
- Best for:
- People who want tasks, habits and a calendar grid in one affordable app and do not need email inside it.
- #6
Todoist
A cross-platform to-do list known for natural-language capture and a large integration ecosystem.
Best for people who want a simple list they can plan from, and are fine keeping the calendar separate. Todoist’s natural-language quick add parses dates, projects, labels and priorities as you type, apps for every platform work offline, and there is an official MCP server plus two-way Google Calendar sync. Pro at $5 a month, far below Sunsama’s price, adds a calendar layout with task durations for time blocking. You lose Sunsama’s guided ritual and planned-versus-actual view, nothing prioritizes or schedules for you, and email still gets in by forwarding or an add-on. The free plan caps at five personal projects.
Pros
- Best-in-class natural-language quick add that parses dates, projects, labels and priorities as you type.
- Apps for every platform, including Windows, Linux, Apple Watch and Wear OS, all working offline.
- An official MCP server at ai.todoist.net lets Claude and other agents read and write your tasks.
- Two-way Google Calendar sync and, on Pro, a calendar layout with task durations for time blocking.
- A mature ecosystem of templates, filters and integrations built up over more than a decade.
Cons
- No email client: email gets in by forwarding or an add-on, so you still triage your inbox in Gmail.
- Nothing prioritizes or schedules for you; ordering, time slots and planning are manual.
- The calendar layout, task durations, custom reminders and unlimited Ramble all sit behind Pro.
- The free plan caps you at five personal projects.
- Pricing:
- From $5/month (annual) Pro is $5/month billed annually ($60/year) or $7 month to month; the free plan is limited to five projects.
- Best for:
- People who want a fast, reliable to-do list on every device and are happy to keep email and calendar in separate apps.
Feature comparison
Tasks
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural-language task inputType a sentence like "Pay rent by noon on the last day of each month, remind me a week ahead" and the date, recurrence, priority and reminder are parsed for you. | Included | Included | PartialThe task form parses dates; richer parsing needs AI Chat. | PartialTasks can be added in plain language from Slack; the web task form uses structured fields. | Included | Included | PartialQuick add parses dates and times, not recurrence, priority or reminders. |
| Auto-prioritizationThe app orders your list for you using tunable criteria such as due dates, quick wins, importance and dependencies. | Included | Not availablePriorities and labels are manual; Aki can suggest a plan but does not rank your list. | Included | PartialTasks are scheduled by priority and due date, but the list itself is not re-ranked for you. | Not availableFour manual priority levels and sortable smart lists; the list is never reordered for you. | Not availableFour manual priority levels and filters; the list is never reordered for you. | Not availableSunsama is built around manual daily planning; the AI can suggest a schedule but does not rank your list. |
| Recurring tasksDaily, weekly, monthly and custom repeat rules with per-instance skip and reschedule. | Included | Included | Included | PartialRepeating work is modelled as Habits rather than recurring tasks. | Included | Included | Included |
| Task dependenciesBlock one task on another and see the chain in a Gantt view with circular-dependency detection. | Included | Not available | Included | Not available | Not availableSub-tasks only; one task cannot block another. | Not availableSub-tasks only; one task cannot block another. | Not availableTasks can have subtasks but cannot block each other. |
| Waiting-on trackingA dedicated status for tasks waiting on a reply, call or message so they stop cluttering your active list. | Included | Not availableUse a label or snooze the task; there is no dedicated waiting status. | PartialUse the Blocked status or a custom status; there is no dedicated waiting list. | Not availableNo waiting status; tasks are either scheduled or done. | Not availableUse a tag or a custom filter; there is no waiting status. | Not availableUse a label and a filter; there is no waiting status. | Not availableNo waiting status; most people park such tasks in a channel or the backlog. |
| Habits and goalsTrack habits with streaks and connect them to goals and longer-term intentions. | Included | Not availableRituals guide daily planning and shutdown; there is no habit tracker with streaks. | Not available | Included | Included | Not availableRecurring tasks and the Karma score stand in for habits; there is no per-habit streak or goal tracking. | PartialWeekly objectives exist; habit tracking with streaks is on the roadmap. |
Views
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanban boardDrag tasks between status columns. | Included | Not availableTasks are organized in lists and projects, not status columns. | Included | Not available | Included | Included | PartialThe week is laid out in day columns and the backlog in channels; there are no status columns. |
| Gantt chartTimeline view with day, week and month zoom and dependency arrows. | Included | Not available | PartialTimeline and Gantt views are included only in Business AI. | Not available | PartialThe Premium Timeline view shows tasks on a time axis but has no dependency arrows. | Not available | Not available |
| Calendar viewSee tasks and events side by side in a day, week or month grid. | Included | Included | Included | Included | PartialThe free plan has a month view; day, week and multi-day grids need Premium. | PartialThe calendar layout is Pro only; the free plan shows Upcoming as a list grouped by day. | Included |
AI
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI assistantA chat assistant that can create, update, complete and find tasks, switch views and undo its own changes. | Included | Included | IncludedAI Chat can create and update tasks and projects; usage draws on monthly AI credits. | PartialScheduling agents run in the background; there is no chat assistant, though the MCP server lets Claude manage tasks. | Not availableThere is no chat assistant inside the app; the official MCP server lets Claude manage tasks from outside it. | PartialTodoist Assist suggests sub-tasks, breaks down work and turns Ramble dictation into tasks; it is not a chat assistant that manages your list, and most of it is Pro only. | PartialAI estimates durations, breaks down tasks and plans your day; it is not a general chat assistant. |
| AI email triageEvery incoming thread gets a summary, a priority score and a suggested action you confirm with one key. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not availableEmail Assist (Pro) turns a forwarded email into a task; nothing summarizes or scores your inbox. | Not available |
| AI schedulingAI splits tasks into work sessions and packs them into free time inside your working hours. | Included | PartialAki AI can plan your day on request; it does not continuously reschedule tasks like Motion or Reclaim. | Included | Included | Not availableYou drag tasks onto the calendar yourself; nothing fills free time for you. | Not availableYou drag tasks into the calendar layout yourself; nothing packs them into free time for you. | Included |
| Voice controlTalk to the app to add and manage tasks hands-free. | Included | Not available | Not availableThe AI notetaker records meetings; there is no voice control for tasks. | Not available | PartialVoice input adds tasks on mobile and through Siri; managing existing tasks is not hands-free. | PartialRamble turns speech into tasks, with 10 sessions a month on the free plan; managing existing tasks still needs a tap. | Not available |
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in email clientRead, reply, archive, label and search your inbox without leaving the app. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not availableEmail gets in by forwarding to a list address; you cannot read or reply inside the app. | Not availableEmail reaches Todoist by forwarding or through the Gmail and Outlook add-ons; you cannot read or reply inside the app. | PartialGmail and Outlook show in a side panel so you can read and drag emails into tasks, but you cannot reply from Sunsama. |
| Email to taskTurn an email into a task with one action and keep the thread linked to it. | Included | Included | PartialVia the browser extension or Zapier; the thread is not linked to the task. | Not availableNo Gmail or Outlook integration; tasks can be created via Zapier. | PartialForward an email to a list’s address or use the Gmail add-on; the task keeps the text, not a live link to the thread. | Included | Included |
| One-click unsubscribeBulk unsubscribe from newsletters using RFC 8058 one-click links. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Calendar
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time blockingDrag tasks onto the calendar as work sessions, resize them and split a task across several sessions. | Included | Included | Included | Included | IncludedTasks with durations can be dragged onto the calendar, but the day and week grids need Premium. | IncludedRequires the Pro calendar layout, where tasks with durations can be dragged into time slots. | Included |
| Google Calendar syncRead events to find free time and write back only the sessions you choose to sync. | IncludedReads events to find free time and writes only the sessions you choose to sync. | Included | Included | Included | PartialTwo-way Google Calendar sync exists, but calendar subscriptions are a Premium feature. | Included | Included |
Automation
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual automation builderNode-based rules with triggers, conditions and actions across both email and tasks, with live match preview. | Included | PartialScheduled AI workflows can send summaries and check-ins; there is no trigger/condition/action rule builder. | PartialProject workflow templates and automated task creation, not a general trigger/condition/action rule builder. | Not availableScheduling rules are configured per habit or task; general automations run through Zapier. | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier or IFTTT rather than inside the app. | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier, Make or IFTTT rather than inside the app. | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier, not inside the app. |
| AI auto-replyAn automation step that drafts or sends an email reply from plain-English instructions. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Integrations
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Contacts syncTwo-way sync with your address book so contacts can be linked to tasks and mentioned in notes. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Slack integrationSync a task list to a Slack board and add tasks with slash commands. | Included | PartialTurns Slack messages into tasks and syncs your status; no list sync or slash commands. | PartialCreates tasks from Slack messages; no list sync or slash commands. | Included | PartialThe official Slack app adds tasks with /ticktick and a message action; it does not sync a list to a Slack board. | PartialThe official Slack app adds tasks with /todoist and a message action; it does not sync a list to a Slack board. | PartialCreates tasks from Slack messages and posts daily plans; no list sync or slash commands. |
| Claude MCP connectorConnect the app to Claude through the Model Context Protocol and manage tasks from a chat. | Included | Included | Not availableNo official MCP server; community-built servers exist on GitHub. | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Platforms
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offline-firstWorks without a connection and syncs changes when you are back online. | Included | PartialThe desktop app tolerates short connection drops, but full offline editing is not supported. | Not availableMotion requires an internet connection. | Not availableReclaim is a web app and requires a connection. | Included | Included | PartialThe mobile app works offline for basic edits; desktop and web require a connection. |
| Desktop appA native desktop app for macOS. | IncludedmacOS today; Windows and Linux coming soon. | Included | Included | Not availableNo native app; the web app can be installed as a PWA on macOS or Windows. | Included | Included | Included |
| Mobile appApps for iPhone and Android. | Included | Included | Included | Not availableNo native iPhone or Android app; the web app can be added to your home screen. | Included | Included | Included |
Pricing
| Feature | Fluidwave | Akiflow | Motion | Reclaim.ai | TickTick | Todoist | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free planA usable free plan with no credit card required. | Included | Not available | Not available | Included | Included | Included | Not available |
What to look for in a Sunsama replacement
Sunsama users tend to value three things: seeing the day on a calendar, keeping the plan realistic, and pulling work from many places. Decide which of those you need most, then decide whether you want the ritual itself or just the outcome of it.
- Manual, suggested or automatic. Akiflow, Todoist and TickTick keep time blocking manual. Fluidwave proposes sessions you confirm. Motion and Reclaim.ai schedule and reschedule on their own. Our AI calendar app roundup compares the approaches.
- Realistic days. Look for duration estimates, working hours and breaks around events, so the plan does not fill every gap.
- Where email lives. Sunsama shows email but cannot reply. If you want to finish an email without switching apps, only Fluidwave on this list has a full client.
- Offline. If you plan on a train or a plane, desktop-only-online is a real limit.
- Consolidation. If you live in Jira, Asana and Trello and only want a planning layer on top, Akiflow and Sunsama are the strongest consolidators; the others expect to be your task list.
- Price. Free, cheap or comparable.
If you want to keep a lightweight ritual regardless of tool, the free weekly planner works alongside any of them.
How we ranked these alternatives
Each entry is drawn from the same competitor profile we use across the site, so the pros, cons and prices you see here match that tool’s own comparison page. We did not use ratings, user counts or awards.
We ranked by how well each tool does Sunsama’s actual job, planning a realistic day on a calendar, and then by what it changes around that: price and the free plan, whether the list is prioritized for you, email handling, offline support and consolidation of other tools. We also noted honestly where each falls short of Sunsama, including Fluidwave, which has no guided planning ritual and no Outlook support.
Fluidwave is first because it keeps the calendar-centered day, adds auto-prioritization so the ranking is done before you sit down, brings Gmail fully inside with triage and replies, works offline and is free. Akiflow is the closest paid substitute for consolidators. Motion and Reclaim.ai cover people who want the plan built for them, with Reclaim.ai offering a real free tier. TickTick and Todoist close the list for anyone who decided a cheaper list with a calendar view was enough. For more time-first tools, see our time blocking app roundup.
Frequently asked questions
Switching from Sunsama?
Bring your tasks, Gmail and Google Calendar into one free app and let Fluidwave decide what comes next. No credit card.